"The dinner is ready! To the table!"
"I'm coming, Mom!"
Quickly, John jumped out of bed, eager to rush to the kitchen.
Hmm... something feels off, but I can't quite put my finger on it—
A strange sensation spread throughout the boy's body, akin to the instinct of a gazelle when a lion appears before it.
The hairs on his arms stood on end, and a bead of sweat trickled down his face.
I don't understand... it's almost as if... I'm scared?
Suddenly, an alien force crashed down on him.
As if someone had grabbed him by the head, a powerful shove sent him crashing to the floor.
Boom!
Again, something seized him by the collar of his shirt, lifting him off the ground, even though no one was in front of him.
"What the hell—!"
Slap!
Slap!
Slap!
An unbearable sting ignited his cheeks, twisting his neck from side to side with each sound.
"What the hell?!"
Once more, that feeling coursed through his body.
I'm going to die!
The thought raced through the boy's mind.
He closed his eyes and waited.
Boom!
A searing pain engulfed him, as if he had been hit by a truck.
He felt his body move through the air before crashing down a few meters away.
Slowly, John opened his eyes.
"Welcome back. Just so you know, it hurt me more than it hurt you."
A young man with dark hair and an icy expression stared down at him.
"I can only imagine how sorry you are," John replied, slowly rising to his feet.
"Sorry, but it was the only way to wake you up."
"And killing that bitch wasn't an option?"
"Let me rephrase. It was definitely the easiest way."
"..."
Without uttering a word, John turned to Noah, channeling his mana into his right fist before launching it at the boy.
BOOM!
The hook struck the young man's jaw, twisting his neck with such force that it nearly broke.
"Now we're even."
"..."
This time, it was Noah who fell silent.
I swear, next time I'll kill him.
Both thought in unison.
As if nothing had happened, John's eyes darted around the room.
"By the way, who are these people?"
"Let's just say that if I hadn't woken you up in time, you would've ended up like them."
"What should we do then?"
"What we've done so far: obliterate them."
"Okay."
And the two moved.
________________________________
John's feet danced across the floor, moving him from one point to another in the room with unparalleled grace.
With each step, a punch sliced through the air, and with each strike, another lifeless body fell.
Like a flash of lightning, John appeared and vanished, moving at a speed impossible to track with the naked eye.
This wasn't just simple magic.
It was skill.
With his precision in manipulating mana, John was now able to concentrate his energy in the most efficient way possible, condensing just enough for maximum effect.
Only his imagination remained the limit for the boy.
With a fluid motion, John brought his right hand to his chest, lifting his elbow above his shoulder, before slamming it against one of the opponent's temples.
Crack!
The sound of shattering bones reverberated as vibrations coursed through the boy's arm.
I'm sorry.
The thought flickered through the young man's mind for an instant.
The people before him had been happy just days before; they had families, jobs, dreams.
And now they were mere puppets in the hands of a wretched being.
"Bravo! You're FA-VO-LOUS! Let's see how you handle something a bit more... daring!"
Seated on a throne with her legs crossed in a sultry pose, Luxuria reveled in the spectacle, her finger brushing over her lips.
Behind her, a group of men and women emerged from the shadows.
Far fewer than those who had fought until now, but their aura was entirely different.
The usual glazed eyes fixated on the two boys, revealing no emotion.
Among the group, two figures caught John's attention, freezing him in place.
His lips began to tremble.
His head spun, unlike anything he had experienced before.
His knees buckled.
And a void formed in his chest.
A single tear rolled down his cheek, soaking his face before falling to the ground and shattering.
"M... Mom... Dad?!"
_______________________________
Never before had John felt such pain.
Never before had he hoped for something so desperately that it robbed him of sleep at night.
Never before had he wanted to kill someone so badly.
Slowly, an intense white aura formed around the boy's silhouette. Like a flame illuminating the darkest night, everything around him vanished, engulfed in the immense glow.
The thick hair that had previously covered his forehead lifted due to the immense pressure generated by the energy.
His deep blue pupils constricted to tiny almost invisible dots.
Every fiber of his being burned with the desire to tear apart the young woman seated on the throne before him.
"I'll kill you..."
The boy whispered.
"I'LL KILL YOU!"
He shouted in a cry of agony.
Ignoring everything around him, John rose, locking his gaze onto Luxuria.
For a moment, a feeling unlike anything she had ever experienced formed in the girl's heart.
"Let's see if you can—"
Her words died in her throat.
The boy, who had been several meters away just moments ago, was now mere millimeters from her, close enough to feel the warmth of her breath on his face.
His hand covered Luxuria's view, gripping her head with his fingers.
The grip tightened until she screamed in pain.
The veins in John's arm bulged, making it seem like they would explode at any moment.
Then, with all his strength, he pushed.
BOOM!
The throne that had adorned the room shattered behind Luxuria, sending her crashing to the floor.
Without loosening his grip, a stream of saliva began to drip from the boy's mouth like a ravenous dog.
Holding her still, he concentrated his mana in the palm of his other hand.
A long ice blade formed almost instantly, driving it into the woman's abdomen.
"Ahhhh! Let go of me, you piece of shit!"
She screamed, thrashing about.
"Help me!"
She yelled, calling upon her puppets.
But no one came to her aid.
Out of the corner of her eye, a terrible truth confronted her: she was alone.
Near a mountain of corpses, a black-haired boy stared at her with eyes as deep as the abyss.
"Fool... if you don't control them directly, no puppet moves. You cut your own strings; I just finished the job."
Noah said, yawning.
A sharp pain pierced through her body.
Another ice spear plunged straight into her stomach.
Now I know what that thing humans call fear feels like.
And then oblivion embraced her.
_______________________________
CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE DEFEATED LUXURIA, The Primordial Sin!
CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE RECEIVED THE TITLE "SIN SLAYER (4)"!
CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE GAINED 10,000 EXPERIENCE POINTS!
CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE GAINED 10,000 EXPERIENCE POINTS!
_______________________________
For the first time, John released his grip.
Luxuria's body fell to the ground with a dull thud.
Without uttering a word, the boy turned and headed toward Noah and the pile of bodies.
Atop the heap, two familiar faces stared back at him, wide-eyed.
"I'm sorry…"
The boy said, gently touching his mother's face before closing her eyes for the last time.
With trembling hands, John unclasped the necklace hanging around the woman's neck.
Still shaking, he tried to fasten it around his own.
"Let it be; I'll take care of it."
Noah said, taking it from his hands.
With the same gentleness with which John had removed it from his mother, Noah fastened it around the boy's neck.
"Thank you…"
"Anytime."
Without adding anything else, John brushed his fingers over his father's eyelids before rising and continuing on his path: at the end of the room, another portal had already appeared.